Let's Get To It
Let's Get To It is Kylie Minogue's fourth studio album. The album was released on October 14, 1991 by PLW & Mushroom Records. Unlike Kylie's previous albums, the album derives a more pop and R&B influenced-music with various genres of new jack swing, hip-hop, dance-pop, house music and disco (which was similar to her previous studio album). Album Background The album was recorded during the summer of 1991 and was Kylie's last studio album released on PLW Records. It included new jack swing, soul, dance, house and techno influences. The album also allowed Kylie to develop her songwriting with six tracks co-written with Mike Stock. During the time making the album, Matt Aitken left the trio because he felt he was "burnt out" and said "People say all our records sound the same, but it came to a point where they started sounding all the same to me." Smash Hits said Kylie told them how a lot of her new songs are "pretty different", saying: "Everything from big band swing stuff to a more soulful kind of thing." Kylie also said that she hoped to find time to do some more recording that year and said, "I may do some more writing in America which may lead to another recording there." During this time, Kylie was fascinated by club music. Even though her music was always played in commercial clubs, but the pop element of her earlier works made the "cooler clubs" tend to "frown upon." Kylie then created an alias for herself as "Angel K," set about releasing white label promotional vinyl's of tracks included "Do You Dare" and "Closer" (both of the songs later appeared as B-sides on "Give Me Just a Little More Time and "Finer Feelings" respectively). Album Composition Digital Spy's Nick Levine called the album her most "diverse set of songs yet." In Social Theory in Popular Culture, Lee Barron noted her significant musical differences from her "initial formula" of the early works in the album and the previous, Rhythm of Love, with the latter has "a sound even flirting with R&B influences." The first track of the album "Word Is Out" is a new jack swing and R&B track with "swingbeat big band sound." "Too Much of a Good Thing" is a house track which contains interpolations from Janet Jackson's song "Control" and "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. "If You Were with Me Now" was compared by to "Disney duet balladry." The techno-pop "I Guess I Like It Like That" includes a stadium keyboard part that lays the foundation of the song which Chris True from AllMusic called it one of album's "noticeable missteps". The song contains an interpolation of "I Like It Like That" by Salt-N-Pepa and a sample from "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. Waterman stated: "I went to bed, and, and I literally was in bed thinking of all these records that I had in my life ... I was going through the library mentally thinking, what song would she never have done that we could do that was just a great song. And one of my favorite songs was Chairman of the Board's 'Give Me Just a Little More Time." Waterman was working in the middle of the night when he ran downstairs to his record label to find the track & the song was played for Kylie the next morning. Album Artwork The album's art work was photographed by German fashion photographer Jürgen Teller. In the cover, Kylie wore a dress which was designed by Nobuhiko Kitamura for Japanese fashion brand Hysteric Glamour, it was described as a mini dress with "stretch lycra, multi-coloured green, yellow pink vanity print, sleeveless, shoe string shoulder straps in same fabric." In 2004, the dress was later donated to the Cultural Gifts Program of the Arts Centre Melbourne by Kylie herself. According to Kylie: "The album cover will worry fans the most. I like it, but it's black and white and there are three men with me. You don't realise they're men until you look at it carefully - you think they're just shapes around the edge. You wonder what I'm thinking because I've got this weird expression on my face which people haven't seen before. ... It's going to be interesting to see what people make of the album cover." Chris True from AllMusic said the cover is "kind of creepy." Tracklisting #Word Is Out (3:35) #Give Me Just a Little More Time (3:08) #Too Much of a Good Thing (4:24) #Finer Feelings (3:54) #If You Were with Me Now (feat. Keith Washington) (3:11) #Let's Get to It (4:49) #Right Here, Right Now (3:52) #Live and Learn (3:15) #No World Without You (2:46) #I Guess I Like It Like That (6:00) Notes *The Summer Breeze 7" Edit for "Word is Out" was used for the Australian release. *Too Much of a Good Thing" samples Janet Jackson's song "Control" and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's song "Let the Beat Hit 'Em." *"Right Here, Right Now" samples Shay Jones's song "Are You Gonna Be There." *"I Guess I Like It Like That" samples Salt-N-Pepa's song "I Like It Like That." Chart Performance "Let's Get to It" is Kylie's least successful album to date. It is her only studio album to miss the top ten in both Australia and the United Kingdom, reaching #13 and #15 respectively. It is also her only studio album not to be certificated by BPI. The album also reached #37 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart. Critical Reception Chris True from AllMusic gave the album two and a half stars, called the album is "certainly as danceable" as her previous work Rhythm of Love but "not her most solid release, but fans of her early work will enjoy it." Joe Sweeney from PopMatters the album's musical styles make it "sound more dated by half than Rhythm of Love." Digital Spy claimed their readers not to let the Stock Aitken Waterman fool them. Nick Griffiths from Select called it "easily her best album", with the "teeny-beat" production has been "superseded by a glossier, more soulful production, rising to the impressive but blatant clubdom 'I Guess I Like It Like That.'" However, he still looked at the album as a "false tease", claimed her music "is still for virgins." Nathan Wood from Foxtel's MaxTV called the album "a musical exploration." Kylie had also received a nomination for "Best Female Artist" category at the sixth ARIA Music Awards in 1992 for her work on the album. Like their fourth album, this one also features CDVU+ technology that includes more than 30 pages of bonus features with an exclusive video performance, 60 printable photos, complete album lyrics, downloadable graphics & hidden links. In addition, the packaging of the album is made from 100% recycled materials. Album Personnel *Kylie Minogue – lead vocals *Julian Gingell – keyboards *Mike Stock – keyboards, arranger, backing vocals, producer *Gary Barnacle – saxophone *Paul Riser – arranger *Paul Waterman – arranger, assistant engineer, producer *Keith Washington – vocals on track 5 *Lance Ellington – backing vocals *Tee Green – backing vocals *Phil Harding – backing vocals *Carol Kenyon – backing vocals *Mae McKenna – backing vocals *Leroy Osbourne – backing vocals *Miriam Stockley – backing vocals *Mick Wilson – backing vocals *Dave Ford – mixing *Peter Day – engineer *Gordon Dennis – engineer *Matt Le Flem – assistant engineer *Jason Barron – assistant engineer *Dean Murphy – assistant engineer *Dillon Gallagher – assistant engineer *Chris McDonnell – assistant engineer *Les Sharma – assistant engineer *Juergen Teller – photography Category:Albums